Current Issues

Calling All Australian Gold Prospectors

The Greens are currently pushing for a ban on ALL forms of sluicing in Victoria. We (the prospecting community) strongly feel this move to be a great injustice on our rights as Australians.

Gold prospecting was a major factor in the early development and growth of Australia and still to this day has a positive impact on Australian tourism and small business throughout many gold historic towns. As Australians we must unite to protect our prospecting rights not only for ourselves but for future generations.

In an interview aired on Prime 7 'Prospector angry over sluicing ban', Australian Greens Lead Candidate for Northern Victoria (Jenny O'Connor) described the act of sluicing as “using high powered water pressure to erode away river banks to look for gold”, a description which seemingly sounds like “hydraulic sluicing”, a destructive form of sluicing that was banned in Australia 100 or so years ago.

Modern day sluicing does not involve water cannons which blast away river banks, in fact a small river or stream sluice has very little environmental impact and perhaps no more than panning.

Another form of sluicing is known as high-banking, which despite its name it has nothing to do with the river banks. This form of sluicing utilises the means of a free standing sluice and a water pump to wash material that has been sourced by hand. At no stage of high-banking are river banks eroded by high water pressure.

We ask that Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change (Ryan Smith) consider prospecting as a genuine and respectful Australian pastime and refuse these changes put forward by the Greens.

We would also like to invite both Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change (Ryan Smith) and Australian Greens Lead Candidate for Northern Victoria (Jenny O'Connor) to spend a day sluicing with us to see just how little an environmental impact it really has.

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